One of the types of carriers commonly employed to package beverage bottles, particularly long-necked bottles, is the basket-style carrier. These carriers include a separate cell for each bottle and a center handle partition. They are easily lifted and carried, they have excellent strength and the cell dividers protect the bottles against contact with adjacent bottles. Basket-style carriers have long been associated with the packaging of premium products, as their design allows the bottle necks to be seen. Moreover, if the bottles are not disposable, they can be returned in the same carrier since the carrier is not destroyed by removal of the bottles.
A drawback of basket-style carriers is the ease with which individual bottles can be removed prior to the sale of the entire carrier. The carriers are normally on display in retail outlets, and there is little to prevent individual bottles from being taken prematurely from a package. It would be highly desirable to be able to prevent this from happening without detracting from the beneficial features of basket-style carriers, including the ability to use the carrier to return used bottles.